The Don River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

located in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Course and features

The Don River rises in the

Clarke Range The Clarke Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a rainforest-covered mountain range located in North Queensland, Australia. The range is located approximately from the Coral Sea and west of the coastal city of Mackay. The highest poi ...

, part of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

, below Mount Roundhill and west of . The river flows generally north by northeast through the

Eungella National Park Eungella National Park ( ; meaning "Land of the clouds") is a protected area in Queensland, Australia. It is on the Clarke Range at the end of the Pioneer Valley 80 km west of Mackay, and 858 km northwest of Brisbane. Eungel ...

and is joined by thirteen minor

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

, towards its

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

and empties into the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

north of . With a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of , the river descends over its course. High

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

levels have been recorded at the mouth of the river. Land use in the upper catchment is mostly beef cattle production with crops grown in the richer soils downstream. The river is crossed by the

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Na ...

via the Don River Bridge at Bowen.

Flooding

The highest recorded flood was in 1970 when the river reached at the Bowen Pumping Station. The river delta is particularly vulnerable to flooding during cyclones. Floods in 2008 left deposits of sand which raised the riverbed considerably. Approval to dredge sand was granted by the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

however only about half of that has been removed in recent years. A flood in 2008 lead the

Whitsunday Regional Council The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local government ...

to create a channel so that similar flooding could be avoided. A management plan for the river was established late in 2008. It included measures to encourage further

sand extraction Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in concre ...

References

{{Rivers of Queensland Rivers of Queensland North Queensland Bodies of water of the Coral Sea

Course and features

Flooding

See also

References